Impacts of Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) on Erosion Behavior of Muddy Sediment
Abstract
Recent policy changes regarding the placement of dredged material have encouraged the USACE to increase its beneficial use (BU) of the sediments dredged from the nations navigation channels. A good portion of this material is fine grained (<63 m), which traditionally has limited use in BU applications, in part due to its dispersive nature. A need exists to evaluate the potential of stabilizing and using fine-grained sediment (FGS) in BU projects. Previous studies have shown the addition of granular sand to FGS reduces the mobility of the bed. The potential of using Granular Activated Carbon (GAC), an amendment commonly used in environmental capping involving FGS, as a similar bed stabilizing material was explored in this study. A series of laboratory erosion tests using Sedflume were performed on FGS-GAC mixtures that ranged from 5% to 20% GAC by mass. Results suggested that GAC content (less than or equal to) 10% had no influence on the stability of the bed while GAC content (greater than or equal to) 15% appeared to reduce both critical shear stress (cr) and erosion rate (n). However, when compared to control cores, those without GAC, clear evidence of bed stabilization of FGS from the addition of GAC was not observed.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 2022
- Accession Number
- AD1174714
Entities
People
- Danielle R. Tarpley
- David Perkey
Organizations
- Engineer Research and Development Center